“You’ll be fine.”
She sighed for what felt like the seven millionth time. “Text me the details and I’ll be there.”
“Thanks, Brooklyn. I owe you one.”
“I’m going to hold you to that, Alec.”
“And I expect nothing less.”
Chapter Seven
How many menwould respond to an anonymous request to get a stranger pregnant? It turned out that the answer was thirty-seven. Twenty-four hours into her PR nightmare, thirty-seven men had expressed interest in hopping into bed with Brooklyn with the express purpose of putting a baby in her.
She wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or disappointed. It was either a glimmer of hope. Or a sign that the world had been knocked off its axis.
Brooklyn decided to focus on the positive, rather than the insanity of her situation—she had options. Thirty-seven of them, to be exact. And she kept that in mind when she climbed out of her car in front of theGood Day USAstudios, only to be met by a man with a sign saying, “Sperm are precocious! Not FREE!”
Oh, boy. Here we go.
“You’re horrible!” he shouted at her as she bustled toward the door.
“Do you know what precocious means?” She pointed to his sign.
“What? It says precious.”
You, dear man, need spellcheck.“Whatever you say.”
Before she could reach the relative safety of the studio, he and his sign were inches from her face. “What makes you think you can just ask men to get you pregnant? We don’t owe you anything.”
She wasn’t anywhere close to being used to this, even though she’d suffered through a similar comment out on the street after work yesterday. That guy had cast her a judgmental look and simply said, “You wish.”
Thirty-seven men disagree with you, buddy.“I’m well aware that sperm are a very special commodity. If they weren’t, they’d be a lot easier to come by.”
The man’s jaw went slack, but no words came from his mouth.
Brooklyn was dumbfounded. What in the hell did he want from her? He’d taken the time to come to midtown Manhattan at the ass crack of dawn, he’d made a sign decrying her apparent insensitivity, which even included a little cartoon drawing of spermatozoa, and now he wasn’t going to say a thing? “I’m very sorry I offended you.” She reached for the door handle.
His scowl softened. “You’re sorry?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
“Okay.” He nodded slowly.
“Okay?”
“I didn’t expect you to apologize. I thought you’d launch some feminist tirade at me.”
Oh, if only he knew the amount of feminist tirade material she had stashed away in her head, especially after he’d gone out of his way to ruin her morning. “Nope. I’m just trying to get through the next few hours. Have a nice day.” She hurried inside, flustered.
Was this an omen? Another damn sign? Alec wouldn’t ask the question in such an indelicate manner, but she was about to endure a lot of unpleasant scrutiny. All she could hope was that she’d be able to explain herself coherently and that would make this all go away. Then she could get to vetting thirty-seven men. Or stick her head in a hole. She was undecided on that.
She checked in at the security desk with the help of a very friendly guard named Maddie, and a dismissive snort from another guard named Jerome. Soon after, a production assistant greeted her, whisking her back to a dressing room, where a makeup artist was waiting. Brooklyn had already done her own at home, but she was given another coat of powder and a freshening of lipstick, then the woman made a quick departure. As soon as she shut the door, Brooklyn was left alone in the windowless room.
She plopped down on the couch and closed her eyes. Good God, she’d needed some actual quiet. The last twenty-four hours had been nothing but having to face everyone else’s response to what had happened. Here, for this brief moment, she only had to live with her own judgment. And she chose to not be brutal with herself. She knew the truth of what was in her heart. If anyone wanted to interpret it in a negative way, that was their problem.
Of course, it was easy to say that you’d be strong and face whatever criticism people wanted to launch at you. It was quite another to actually do it. She was a person with real vulnerabilities. Like everyone.
A knock came at the door and Alec poked his head inside. “Good morning.”
